Destiny: Year one
by PhynixProwler
Summary: Welcome to the world of Destiny. After the collapse and what have you. This story tells of a young warlock who tries to find her place in the world. Little does she know she plays a big part in one fireteams story to greatness; Vengeful enemies and bosses to reach their goal. There is not just stuff in the dark you must be wary of...
1. Prelude

Prelude: The Beginning

A woman sits beside a large window facing towards Earth, a worried look in her eyes as she glances back toward the holding bay of the ship. Her ghost floating close by, bobbling and flashing lightly; tiredly as the woman raises her hand for it to rest. The woman's helm fades, allowing long blonde hair to fall to her shoulders. "Ghost can you take another recording?" The ghost turns slightly inn her hands "Yes guardian".

"Entering Log 109-61…. Mission 192. We are near the Moon outpost, heading towards Earth. Huh…. It seems so small now then since when I first started. This journey…. I never thought that, it would be like this…. Gazer, Ice and Hopeless, Saving me from the darkness. That floor was so cold, …. I thought my my light would fade… like so many before me." Cough….. "Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. I should be able to tell this with no problem;" Sigh. "Its been…. A rough journey, it seem like forever since…."

"Maybe I should begin with my team….? No; Maybe? Yes, The day I was reborn a guardian! I still do not recall my death or the life I lead before now, but I do remember the jungle, desert and cities of Venus. Where they found me, so long ago….."


	2. Dust to Light CH1

**Chapter 1: Dust to Light**

***** A Guardian's first act is to protect a home they do not yet know… (Mark of the Far-Flung)

A barren wasteland of sand of sand stretches miles of Venus, accompanied far off by jungle that engulfed cities beyond. Sand dunes covering old Tech and rocks not seen in centuries. The wind constantly blowing sand over the land and odd sulfur springs, that were scattered over the far landscape. A sudden dash of thrusters can be heard as a sparrow flies over a huge sand dune, then coming to a stop at the top. The guardian driving, dismounts the sparrow allowing the bike to then disappear; kneeling down, he looks through a scope at the city below and the vast land before him. Hunters would mostly go on their own, being the roguish type and gather information to take back to the vanguard. But for this select hunter, he had others who had a very different plan and tagged along. Two more sparrows bellow over the same sand dune, sending all sorts of debris around him; only to tumble down the other side and into spring below. "Gazer!" came a voice from behind him, a third man approaching him on foot. Gazer, the hunter, sighed looking into his scope again "Thought you didn't want to come, Snow Shark". The second guardian, Snow Shark, was a human titan. He was the father figure of the group and took pride in that, even though he didn't honestly at the beginning. "ICE and HS wanted me to come along, you know how they are" Snow Shark motioned towards the two below: giving a light warmhearted chuckle as Gazer now pinched his nose "You know they only want to help" he pointed out.

Gazer forced a groan, excepting the fact "I know… but just look at that". Meaning the scene unfolding below. ICE, an Exo Warlock, pinning HS, an Exo Hunter in a Sulfur pool; Gazer knew this game of wrestling would only last until either one of them lost or something more interesting happened. "Where is Dark?" Gazer grumbled, attempting to change the subject. Snow Shark thought to himself a moment, "I think…..He said he was looking into a vague signal of a ghost distress call. It popped up in the abandoned city, near the old observatory". Gazer shrugged, his eyes not leaving his scope. ICE came back to Gazer's location, summoning his ghost "That signal is still broadcasting. I know the mission patrols are important but maybe we should provide some back-up?"

Gazer looked to Snow Shark a second just as HS suddenly took off in that direction, quickly disappearing behind the buildings beyond. "Shouldn't we follow him?" ICE asked gently, acting nonchalant about the deal. Gazer gave another frustrated sigh, mounting his sparrow again, "Might as well, patrols can wait and we should keep Hopeless from hurting himself". ICE and Snow Shark mounted their sparrows now, following Gazer into the city below. They followed the distress signal until they located Dark, another titan, posted near the observatory. Dark was an Exo titan, not human like Snow Shark, but same concept. His gaze locked on something below the building line, close to the river below. HS jumped down before them. "HS! JEEZ! damn-it!" Gazer snarled, now trailing HS, guarding him. "What in travelers name is he going down there for?"; that when Dark jumped down as well, remaining back as back up while HS investigated. "Okayyy then, or everybody ignore my questions and go one your little adventure on Venus in the brush" Gazer growled sarcastically.

Down below he could see something that caught his eye, something was actually down in the brush. Getting closer, HS approached cautiously with his gun locked on the target. It had not moved but obviously was breathing. Hs moves a large leaf aside just as a ghost appears in front of him, scaring him enough to fall backwards to into some mud. "Finally someone answers my distress call" the ghost says excitedly, spinning and blinking as it examined HS now. "I thought we would be stuck out here for days" flosting over a new guardian, a female human warlock by her attire.

HS put his auto rifle away and kneeled closer, no obvious bruising or bleeding so she was in no recent skirmish; but somehow tuckered herself out or had not woken up yet. "Oy, Hopeless, What you find" came an English strong voice, obviously Dark. "HS softly hushed him, waving him over "Its a warlock just reanimated by her looks". Dark did not believe him, laughing "You daft in the head, mate? There is no way a new guardian would…." he paused, looking down at the new guardian and cocking his head to the side "What in the world is she doing all the way out here then?" HS shrugged in reply, having zero idea like Dark. "Oi! ICE, come here a wee second!" shouted Dark; Only to have ICE suddenly go flying by on his sparrow and into the river. Both men just shook their heads. "Does the man ever take the easy way down?" Dark asked, somewhat knowing his answer as Snow Shark showed up beside him now. Both answering his question, "Nope!" They wait a quiet moment as ICE finally joins them and hopefully explain their discovery, but unfortunately he too was stumped. There is no way she flown, she had no ship in the vicinity and for someone to die on Venus was listed as highly improbable.

The guardian began to stir as HS approached again, this time startling her; she responded by grasping the shock rifle she had in hand and swung hard, hitting HS's head, stunning him some. "WHA!" shouted a startled HS, then be started laughing "HUHU WOW, This is a spunky one! Hey guys can we keep it?" ICE was quick to reply, though he himself was thrown off guard by the quick change, Hopeless! I thought we talked about this…. Guardians are friends not pets and this is a SHE!" Once again pointing out the obvious, just then the guardians ghost goes flying by his head and disappears. Apparently, she was very startled by this development and ready to fight them off if she had to. Now they could see she had some confrontation with fallen and was not having any of their nonsense judging she did have one of their weapons.

Before they could say or do anything else, Snow Shark pulled them back as Gazer then stepped closer; less was more in this situation since she was a bit jumpy. He could tell she was terrified, he raised his hand without weapon as he approached closer; his voice very soft "You look like you have been through a lot and need some help. We are here to do that. Take it easy" he showed her he had no weapons on him and stepped closer again "My names Gazer, this is my team. Snow Shark, Ice-23, HS-67 and Darkace. We are guardians, like you". The gun shook wildly in her hands, she seemed to calm some and lowered the gun. Gazer then softly took the barrel in hand and raised to offer the woman a hand "I'm betting you have questions but we can't do that here, we can take you home to the tower. Does that sound okay?" Her mind finally started slowing down as her panic started subsiding and released the weapon to Gazer, giving a light nod and taking his other hand; trusting him. "Alright now, Dark please contact the vanguard and tell Ikora what we found. She should be ready to receive her when we return" Gazer instructed, then looked back to the new guardian "Can you walk?" She nodded, stuttering lightly "S… ssoome, but… I… I fell down here chasing that" she motions to her ghost that now reappears. HS snickered at the thought, only to be quickly corrected by ICE, who stepped firmly on his foot. Snow Shark slowly approached the guardian, offering his hand to help "Can we help you up the slope, might be easier". She looked between Gazer and Snow Shark, giving a nod; she didn't know much about being a guardian but something about these guys felt safe. Both men took a side of the guardian and jumped her to the top of a peak point of a rock formation, then called for their ships.

Ikora had received the message and would be happily awaiting their new arrival. She looked at HS sadly and sheepishly spoke, "I'm sorry about wailing on you when I woke up, I was surprised". HS looked back and gave a light chuckle, rubbing his helm "No worries, I have a thick head. I'm honestly jusy glad you didn't shoot me" he laughed "Besides, its not the first time someone has smacked me with a gun up sise the head"; lowering his voice now "At least you had a passable reason". With that Snow Shark swats the back of his head and states firmly "That's for making me worry and following orders". "YOU SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!?" he squealed, rubbing the back of his helmet.

The new warlock gave a light laugh, she was not sure but something felt right about this team. Glancing over she noticed they had ghosts too, so she figured, if they had them, the one that she was chasing around was indeed hers. Like on que, her ghost appeared cautiously at her side, "Putting 2 and 2 together now?" "Yeah" she she said " I think" she glanced at her surroundings finally "Where are we?" "On a planet called Venus, far from Earth where they are taking us". The name Earth seemed familiar but that could also be artificial intelligence planted in her brain by the little robot ghost at her side. The thrusters from a ship suddenly startle her, causing her to run into Dark, who immediately stables her "Easy love, no need in that jumping around. Don't want to loose you to the abyss below now". She looks to the other side of Dark and sees a deep pit of nothing, that she didn't want to fall into. Gazer motions her to approach him and he gave specific instructions to her ghost. She was to board in his ship and he would take her the tower; the ghost complied.

The ship was quite cramped in the cargo hold, reason that the ship was technically made to only have one passenger per ship. Gazer boarded soon after and they left the planet surface to make the jump to Earth. A radio transmission came in as soon as they entered Earths space, The vanguard hunter Cayde, was checking in; "Gazer, You have those mission specs I asked for?" The random call was expected but not that soon. HE replied "No Cayde, I don't Something came up". "Are you kidding me? "Cayde complained, "That was your whole reason for going to Venus". "I know" Gazer growled, making his frustration apparent "Just something came up that needed my immediate attention, couldn't be helped". "OH?! And What could have that… "Cayde suddenly paused, "Oh...OH! Yeah, uh right. Sorry, Ikora just informed me of your package. I'll speak to you when you get here". The radio went silent, leaving Gazer more fazzled then before; mumbling angrily under his breath when his Ghost perked up "You know they did say we could take a vacation, you might need it before you blow your top". The ghost looked away as Gazer glanced over, "I need a bullet to the head or a punching bag, not a vacation". "Whatever you say big guy, just don't want you to turn out like Eris in the long run". The comment only agitated an already pissy Gazer, but he shrugged it off. Earth was finally a clear landing and they heed into the earth's airspace.

Once out of orbit, all ships docked at the ship yard and the groups headed to the man square of the tower. Ikora and the Speaker were waiting there to receive the new guardian. The others then took off to turn in mission specs and engrams at the cryptarchy. She glanced back, somewhat hoping they would at least stay to see her again, which unfortunately was unlikely. Upon examination, the vanguard found two strange markings on her person; one on her shoulder and the other on her palm. Both were in the shape of a fire bird also known as a phoenix. The Speaker found it odd, but only left to look at some of his books. Ikora and Cayde outfitted the guardian with new cloths and showed her up to her room. "We do hope you like your quarters, but most likely you will not be staying too long her normally as ALL guardians eventually take to missions constantly" Ikora pressed explaining. "The sooner the better" Cayde added. The guardian understood this and gave a nod as they left, allowing her to think on her own.

Down below through a window of her room, she could see the square where they came in after docking. The cryptarch to the left and Speakers tower to the right. The view of the city was amazing from here, but she did feel left out by the others. She wanted to feel like she belonged, she wanted to be like them. She turned back into her room and after a few moments she felt a burning sensation in her hand and shoulder, her head began to spin wildly. Voices surged and a splitting pain ran through her and sudden black, nothing. Moments passed, she didn't know how long she had been out and a voice stirred her and her eyes snapped open. A woman cloaked in dark robes and a mask with three glowing orbs behind it was skneeled beside her. Eris Morn of all people, felt the surge from her and came to her in worry "Are you alright young guardian?" Oddly Eris did not scare the guardian; she rubbed her head, still light headed "Yeah…. I think so". "What is your name Guardian? I saw you with Gazer, ICE and the rest of his team an hour or so ago but didn't recall anyone saying your name" Eris said lightly, helping the guardian to her feet. The young guardian rubbed her head, without thinking she answered "My name is Phynix".


	3. Meeting of the Guard

[Type here]

Chapter 2: Meeting of the guard

We leave the city to ensure there will still be a city

The tower was constantly full of guardians coming and going, most just stop in shortly to rest or to collect rewards. Phynix remained there between ruins to the outskirts of the city, collecting drops from crucible. Her winnings proved of good use when given patrols near the Cosmo drome, giving her better armor and weapons to take down fallen. Her instant favorite being a simple auto rifle and hand gun, she was very quick when crossing terrain, even when not using her sparrow. The most recent of her assignments is to scout out a fallen populace that had landed near the Cosmo drome, it was told there was a captain occupying that ground and was to be eliminated. Many guardians had been in the area when she finally landed, running through the landscape and clearing it of the fallen. She had come up against hundreds of dregs and vandals', cutting her way through till she could reach open ground where she could jump to higher ground; in this case was a small building. She watched as other guardians fired down at the fallen, kneeling a moment to get her bearings and her ghost appeared at her side. "You think the captain may have just left for lunch or do you think it left completely?" the ghost chimed lightly, "Hopefully?" Phynix smiled, shaking her head "You really believe that?" looking over at her ghost now. "No…. not really" it sighed, the shell spinning around once again. "Wishful thinking, I suppose" She giggled. A low rumble of jets is heard as a fallen ship flies low overhead, causing the ground to quiver under the boom of the engines as a large machine is dropped from the cargo hold. The ground shakes violently under the machines weight and begins to unfold, the machine was what the guardian and fallen alike called a walker; looked more like a six-legged bug with guns.

"Incoming walker, I guess the fallen have begun to get serious this time" the ghost chirped softly, suddenly disappearing again as Phynix stood back up. The other guardians began to close in now and the fight was on, shots taken at the walkers legs caused more damage to have it fall and the head shifted to expose the engine until it was completely destroyed. The rewards divided amongst the ones who fought diligently, others being revived by their ghost. Still no captain, maybe her ghost had been right, maybe the captain had gone and left; she didn't believe that a captain would do that, not after being there so long. Phynix thought a moment as more dregs' flooded into the clearing like cockroaches. "I guess I will have to rid us of the small fry to bring out the big fish, or so the saying goes" she paused a second, "I think". Her ghost appeared beside her again and slowly looked over, "You think?… great, then that means you're going to go all guns blazing till the captains shows up. Then what?" She grinned, raising her rifle to her shoulder "What we always do, shoot until it dies or I do". The ghost at her side just remained silent but showed some distaste by disappearing again. "Back to work" she sighed to herself, jumping down between several vandals and quickly eliminating them with her pistol and by knifing the last before resuming her assault. Many others helped in clearing the Cosmo drome until almost all the remaining weaker fallen and small captains are gone, that's when the ground started to shake. A huge skiff with loud engines soared above and a large fallen jumped from the jumped down; the fallens' very weight caused the ground to quake. The Target finally has arrived and apparently, he was angry, judging by his scream of anger and swinging of his weapon. The first few shots the captain had taken at them took out several low-level guardians but Phynix and few others moved quickly to avoid the line of fire. Several remaining new guardians still were in harm's way, she couldn't stand idle and do nothing. Rushing from her cover and running towards the Captain, drawing her rifle and lining the shot and aimed for his head; the shots seemed to do some damage and gained his attention now.

She kept moving around to avoid being shot, keeping one step ahead of the fallen up to this point. One other guardian stood too close to the large fallen captain and she was forced to rush from her position, pushing from them from harm's way; Her luck finally ran out as the captain's arm made full contact with her side. The force from the hit sent her flying through the air, only seeing her flight course would put her into a rundown building and braced for impact. She was waiting to feel pain and slip into nothing until she was revived by her ghost, but it never came as two arms caught her in midair. A familiar and rough voice came to her ear, "You alright?" That voice, she had heard it before not too long ago. Opening her eyes, she could see a hawk like helm, a hunter, but not just any hunter it was Gazer. He placed her down behind an old vehicle from before the fall, looking her over "You stay here". She finally snapped out of her light trance, regaining her gun "Like hell, that was only a love tap". Gazer only gave an agitated sigh before running back into the fight, Phynix close behind at his heels. Just as Gazer was drawing his pistol, he suddenly stopped short and grabbed Phynix to duck behind another car as a missile from a launcher was shot. The blast sent shrapnel flying as the fallen captain screamed in pain and anger. Phynix was able to catch a glimpse of the guardian that shot the missile, a warlock standing on top of a building; she could remember the others calling him Ice. "Hey, metal for brains. Over here" Ice teased, turning the captains attention towards him, like on que another missile is shot from the right and the captain screams again; Two titans stood at the other end of the field. "Make my millennia big guy!" shouted One as the other took a sniper rifle and started running into the battle. From what Phynix could remember, the one that was shouting was Snowshark and the other Darkace; which both now were close to the captain picking pop shots from below. Gazer slipped out from his cover now and drew his missile too, using hand signals all the team picked their positions and took aim. Many others too helped with the final shot, the rumble of footsteps was nothing as the captains finally surrendered and collapsed into the dirt and snow. Guardians launched and ran across the grounds collecting trophies and engram energy in a frenzy, celebrating the victory. The team finally came together at the edge of the clearing as thing began to wrap up, planning their next mission as Phynix collected her winnings. She had not taken her attention away from the team since the captain went down, thinking how to approach them; she didn't want to seem like a fangirl or a kid but wanted to seem excited to see them, things were complicated. Her thoughts were finally snapped back to reality as a firm hand patted her shoulder and a English heavy voice came to her ear, turning around she saw Darkace; a better look, he still had the same armor just a different shade but still she could recognize him. "Hey lass, have we met before?" sounding a bit put off as she turned to him. Her helmet showed her face some through a blue/grey Hugh as she smiled, "We have" she giggled, "But last time we saw each other was on Venus". The comment reminded Dark and he smiled harder "AH, I was wondering what ever happened to you". That's when Ice and Snowshark finally approach too, overhearing the conversation. "Seems to me your doing pretty good for being back at the tower for two months" Ice stated, examining her over some "What's your light level?" She was used this question and looked down some, "I'm only at level 15 so far, but I get by". Gazer let out a audible groan as he rolled his eyes, he couldn't exactly understand the fascination the others had for this new guardian. HS pounced into action and hugged her out of nowhere, "HEY!" causing her to teeter from surprise but she soon returned the gesture.

Phynix was practically glowing with joy at the sight of the team, she had hoped to run into them and maybe join them on some adventures.

The team all left at the same time and met back up at the tower docking area, it seemed busier than usual as ghosts and guardian alike zip to and from building to building. Phynix was the first to arrive out of pure excitement, maybe they would ask her to join up? A first glance at the grounds near the tower, Phynix could tell the others had not shown up as her heart sank worriedly; 'Maybe….. I rushed ahead?' she hoped desperately. Minutes passed as she watched out for the others, until she saw a familiar face of a warlock heading in her direction; It was Ice, the Warlock that was always at Gazers side. Suddenly noticing Phynix now, he could almost see her eye just light up as he waved her over. "Ice!" She dashed over with a bag in hand, "That's your name, right?" He gave a light nod "That's me, thought you got lost on your way here" he chuckled. She glanced around a second, noticing Ice was alone "Where are the others?" Ice thought a second and looked around "They should be here now, or soon as HS got his ship working". "HS? That's?" she tried to remember as Ice laughed again, then stating "The Impulse driven Hunter that hugged you at the Cosmo drome remains". That's when another voice came from behind her, no accent was noticeable "You left us behind back there" as she turned to see a titan. Lighter colored armor than Darkace and slightly taller, she remembered him as the one that made her the most comfortable before; now she was intimidated by his size alone, 'Snowshark, Right?" Her voice almost breaking as she glanced up at the guardian. Giving a light chuckle as his helm dissolved at command of his ghost, Snow Shark finally combed back military cut brown hair "Correct, been wondering where you had gotten off to. Sorry for the delay". Phynix only gave a shrug, "I should have waited for you guys" she said shyly, "When I get worked up, being patient takes a bit of, well, its hard". HS and Gazer finally joined the group without delay, carrying similar bags as Phynix. "Now if you don't mind" ICE chirped, suddenly rushing over to the cryptarchy with HS at his heels; both presented their winnings, like kids with their allowances. The other three seemed to be much more patient, waiting their turn behind several others. The Cryptarchy would take engram light energy and collect the code to create weapons, armor or ship parts.

All Engram energy would come in a variety of colors, ranging from the most common, White and green, to rare Blue, purple legendary and Exotic which is extremely uncommon. These would shine brightly, making them easy to locate and would drop after a mission is executed; mostly once an enemy being defeated. "I GOT an INVECTIVE!" squealed HS as he danced about; leaving a disappointed ICE as he examined a pair of new gloves "Lucky You". Phynix turned in three purple engrams and received new gear, Shark only received a new gun and helm; same as dark. Gazer on the other hand, places his bag on the table and allows the man to ante up all he collected. Three Exotic, two legendary and ten rare were pulled from the bag and the cryptarchy runs the numbers, Gazer remaining silent as he leans into the counter. The first thing Gazer receives is a Chest of Alpha Lupi, followed by Dregs Promise, Vestian Dynasty, don't touch me, the fourth horseman and last word. The remaining engrams seemed of little use and he dismantled the rest of his winnings. By standing guardians whispered to one another either in awe or in jealousy, keeping their voices hushed enough so no one could hear the words they used. Phynix was neither of these but looked up to him, she was in the least intrigued and hoped she too one day could do the same. A sudden scream of pure unbridled joy jostles Phynix from her thoughts, making her jump and turn towards the sound. ICE was now jumping about like a kid at Christmas with a brand new Ghellohorn. The giggles distorting his speech as he ran across the tower common area, showing his prize for all to see. Even straight-laced Gazer smiled at the sight, sharing in the joy of his fellow guardian.

Things started to calm down as guardians began to clear out of the tower, all reasons aside; ICE approached Phynix again, "Hey, you have any missions you got to do?" She couldn't think of anything and shook her head "Nothing I can think of, besides I was just going back to my room until called on". ICE raised a mechanical brow, shaking his head "That will not do" sounding disappointed; "You feel up to hanging out tonight with me and the guys? We planned on going to the city". Phynix was a bit perplexed at this but excited for the opportunity, "Is this a patrol mission or…?" ICE quickly waved to stop her, chuckling softly "Oh, no, no. It's just to decompress and have fun, more or less". Without a second thought she agreed, finally leaving to 'get ready', but only problem is she didn't know the first thing about 'hanging out'. Returning to her room, she finally felt this rock in her stomach and slid down to sit on the floor "I'm hanging out with them…." she thought, "I've been hoping for this… then why am I so nervous?" her ghost finally perks up and appears in front of her, spinning and looking about "You nervous? That's a new one, or is it just the 'New' guardian thing is now bothering you?" She shot a glare at her ghost in warning, giving a sigh as her helm disappears "I don't even know what to wear". The ghost dimmed some and then flashed at a thought, "Maybe we can look some ideas up? You know, research…..may be a good idea". She felt like such a noob again, she finally felt confident in her own skin and like that, she is back at square one all because they showed up again. She would have to try in the least, giving a sigh as she stood up.

Hours later, around late evening, Phynix was no closer to being ready to go then when she was invited; laying her head on the desk. Her ghost was still hovering and chirp to life, turning to look at her "Did you need to meet them anywhere or what?" She gave a frustrated sigh, leaning back in her chair "To be honest… I don't know, he didn't mention". Like as if it were on que, she heard a knock on the door; which gave her a start. "Maybe it's Ikora?" she kind of hoped, she still needed time to get ready; looking down at her robes. She carefully opened the door to see ICE, Gazer and Darkace "HEY!" She gave a little smile, rubbing her neck nervously "Hey guys". ICE tilted his head some as he examined Phynix over, "Did you need more time to change?" trying to be polite. Phynix looked blankly at him, shrugging "I thought I was ready?"; that was a lie. "But… um…. Your still in guardian uniform, don't you have any civies?" Darkace asked gently, pointing to her warlock attire. She did notice their clothing, all of them wore jeans with sneakers and T-shirts; each having their own style. She bit the corner of her lip, tapping her leg with a soft fist nervously "Of course". "Oh, for the love… come here" Gazer stepped inside the room, pulling Phynix back to the center; he then tapped on a screen mounted on the far wall, "I'm going to guess you don't know anything about the room HUB?" he asked firmly, tapping instructions. Phynix remained quiet, watching Gazer through the corner of her eye. She felt so childish in comparison, just as he turns around and points to the HUB "Choose your attire, or we leave you. You got five minutes". She gave a light nod as he then exits the room.

ICE and Darkace were both standing there, arms crossed as if to scold Gazer with their looks; "You have to be so rough?" That's when Snow Shark and HS finally show up, both looking a bit confused as Gazer suddenly storms off. Without asking questions Snow Shark waves to the others, "I'll go see what's eating him" and started after Gazer; ICE didn't pay too much mind about the small hiccup in the plan and waited patiently with the others; after a few minutes the doorknob clicks, and the door opens. Phynix had chosen a early 21st century look, hip hugger blue jeans with black sandal heels and a black tank top; she even wore her caramel hair down, it almost reaching her waist. The last piece to finish was a pair of earrings and necklace that resembled an Exotic engram but gold. She still looked quite shy, but closed the door as she entered the hallway "Does this look okay?" Hoping she fit in as she turned some. ICE chuckled, "You got to stop being so unsure of yourself, you're a guardian. Not a school girl". Phynix looked down slightly, feeling she was judged again and Darkace laughs "What ICE is trying to say lass is, You look just fine. Now, come on you lot, the city isn't going to come to us".

Outside near the Cherry tree, Gazer was leaned against a railing; looking out into the wilderness, deep in thought until he heard footsteps. Rolling his eyes and turning around, "What is it Snow Shark? You think I need to go back and apologize too?" Sounding more irritated then usual. Snow Shark shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets "I don't even know what you did, but If you think you should". Gazer gave a huff in disbelief, turning back to the railing "What is it with that girl? I mean so much fascination". Snow Shark leaned against the railing beside Gazer, looking up to the sky "Everyone starts somewhere, even the best of us" he pointed out; "We found her on another planet, She is a guardian, just like you and me" he stated softly, "You don't treat others differently in that regard, So what makes her so different? Why push her away?" Gazer thought about it a second, giving a growl "I'm not treating her differently, I don't hang out with many guardians. Ice invited her, I didn't". Snow Shark rolls his eyes, smiling some "Sounds more like excuses than reasons your giving me, Maybe getting to know her might be the best move here. Your main group likes her, and I don't think she is going away that easily". Gazer snarled to himself, letting out a held breath "It's nothing against her, I just don't want her too involved and it results in her getting hurt or worse". With that Snow Shark places, a hand on his friends shoulder, "Now that I can understand, but that is part of being a guardian. But I think it's a choice if you enjoy yourself or not". Reluctantly, Gazer had to except that as truth and turned back to Snow Shark with a glare "FINE! Let's go see if 'Phynix' is ready to go yet".

Phynix felt completely naked without her equipment, constantly finding herself rubbing her arms. The way down to the city did take a bit of time, but what can anyone expect living in the tower SO far above the city. Once down in the city streets though, she felt a calm and proud feeling as she watched children play. The city was full of people, working, smiling and being. Families and friends smiling and happy, knowing they are safe. This was the reason for being a guardian, the reason to fight in the name of the traveler's light; human kind, the innocent, so they can live their lives safely. The sight was warming, almost overwhelming until someone tapped her shoulder; glancing over she saw Darkace who smiled "The smile looks good on you lass", he stated lightly "You should do it more often". She had no idea how to respond to that, but smiled more visibly as Darkace then waved for her to fall in with the others. They still were waiting for a bit until Gazer and Snow Shark finally caught up with them, the sun almost at sundown as they started debating where they should go first. Without warning though, Phynix caught Gazer's eye; more notably her eyes, with a unusual shade of aqua, almost glowing with light. Most eye colors for human guardians were darker or one solid color like his own, which in this case matched his dark brown hair. He caught himself staring for a moment, snapping back to semi attention to the debate between HS and Ice. Apparently the boys were deciding where the group was to hang out and relax, their choices being the old time saloon or a family run Italian Restaurant. Without warning, Ice rushed past Phynix, grasping her arm and hauling her away to follow him; she quickly adjusted and followed without question. Darkace blinked in some confusion, pointing back where the two had disappeared to "What just happened?"; tilting his head to the side slightly. His gaze met Snow Sharks. "Told Ice to take Phynix for a quick tour while we check in at the saloon, they will be catching up to us after a bit" Snow Shark chuckled. Gazer being confused as well, but he figured there was some method to Snow Sharks thinking.

Five minutes of running and hundreds of stairs to reach the far west part of the city, Phynix could feel her lungs were on fire; but she pressed on to keep up. The top of the wall became visible as Ice finally came to a stop, a small platform in front of an old fashioned Italian Bistro; upon reaching their destination, Phynix was noticeably winded. "Sorry" Ice sighed, "I forgot humans need air, even if they are a guardian" sounding sympathetic and bored; looking out over the city again as she caught her breath. Noticing where Ice had brought her, she was even more confused _'Ice was an Exo, why would he come to an eatery?'_ The look on her face must have given that fact away, Ice admitting with a light smile "This is one of my favorite spots in the city". He then motioned to the sunset over the mountains and tundra to the west of the city walls, the light shining off the snow in the distance in an open canvas. A young child ran across the platform as Ice then nudges her shoulder, gaining her attention "What you think?" "I think I can see why this is your favorite spot in the city" she smiled, her eyes meeting Ice's now. "So…. I'm just curious, how many missions have vanguard sent you on anyways?" She wasn't surprised by the question, but did gaze down at her feet "Business as usual" she sighed, glancing back "Only a handful, mostly patrols". He chuckled, rubbing his neck "I was just curious. Anyways! We have not been properly introduced" his right hand is held out towards her; "My name is Ice-23". Phynix laughed softly, taking the handshake firmly, "Phynix".

He gave her a nod, giving a proud look "My friends call me Ice"; he then slowly looked to the horizon ominously, "But all in this City…. Call me ICE-STRIDE". She just watched on for a bit until it started getting awkward, tilting her head "Why are you….?" Ice shushed her, "Don't question it… I must be mysterious". She had raised a hand to question and Ice only grabs her hand and puts it back down, "Let me have this…" sounding bored again; Phynix just giggled, accepting it now as she waited at a table.


End file.
